The invention relates generally to the field of pallets structured to support one or more large liquid containers, such as 55 gallon drums or the like, and more particularly relates to such pallets that provide a reservoir or sump having an internal volume greater than the capacity of the liquid containers supported thereon such that any spillage or leakage from the liquid containers is retained within the pallet and does not pass into the environment.
Pallets that are designed, sized and structured to retain liquid spills or leaks from liquid retaining containers supported by the pallets are known, such devices often being referred to as a secondary or spill containment device. In a typical spill or secondary containment pallet, a rigid-walled base member designed to receive and retain liquids supports a horizontally disposed deck, grating or apertured sheet member, with the liquid containment members being positioned on the deck member. The dimensions of the base for particular applications are chosen such that its internal volume is sufficient to receive and retain all the liquid retained within the liquid containers should all the liquid leak from the containers.
While these rigid-walled pallets have proven to be suitable for secondary spill containment, the relatively large size and rigid structure of the base member results in problems in both storage and transport. It is an object of this invention to address this problem by providing a spill containment pallet comprising a liquid-retaining base member with flexible walls and bottom, one or more deck members, and an internal load-bearing support structure positioned within the base member to support the deck member a sufficient distance above the bottom to define an internal area with large volume, the walls of the deck member being suspended from the deck member. All of the elements comprise an assembly that can be easily dismantled such that the pallet can be stored and transported in a folded or compact configuration.